The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

One of the most acclaimed musical films of all time, Umbrellas of Cherbourg tells the story of young love torn apart by war. With a script delivered entirely in song, this technicolour heaven became an inspiration for many subsequent musicals, including this year’s big Oscar hit La La Land. The film dazzles with an array of cute songs, an even sweeter setting, and Catherine Deneuve’s and Nino Castelnuovo’s winning magnetism at its centre.

’The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has stood the test of time as beautifully as Deneuve and seems likely to enchant future generations as fully as it has audiences over the past four decades.’ ★★★★★ Kevin Thomas, LA TImes

’Demy, his cinematographer Jean Rabier and production designer Bernard Evein created an operatic masterpiece of romanticism, which makes a modest but effective antidote to the harsh era of cynicism that has pervaded world cinema ever since.’ ★★★★★ Desson Thomson, Washington Post

The Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP) is Oxford’s oldest and only independent cinema, just off the Cowley Road, showing a mix of recent releases from around the world, classic seasons and a programme of exciting one-off events.